Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1887-12-23
Gill NYE ON ECONOMY.
A Few Philosophical Remarks on the
Various Grades of Barber Shops.

n rev Philosophical Remarks the
Various Grades of Barber Shops.
I read an essay recently on the inside of q
valued exchange on the subject of economy
which greatly interested me- 1t related to
the great expenses which really aggregated
from little ones, and dealt with the matter OF
daily papers, bootblaclSs, shaving expenses,
baths, etc, and showed how millions of the
peoples money were annually squandered in
this way that ought to go towards buying
books The article set me to thinking, end l
resolved to investigate l.. / was more espe-
cially taken with the idea of extravaganza in
the matter of BARRIERS and barber shops. You
can go to gorgeous shop and pay fifteen
cents and tip for shave, or you can go
where you avoid the tip, or you can 60 to
ten cont shop, or you can get shaved on the
Bowery for five cents, or you can ignore the
whole business and let the wind blow through
your whiskers
Last week | was thunderstruck when !
found how much could be saved by changing
from a fifteen cent barber to five cent bar
Der and keeping it up for a year. Counting
300 days as a fair estimate OF the number on
which | would be apt to shave, found that
by this change could have at the end of the
year $50 with which to buy books or cross
lectual improvement which l might choose.
l could buy one Of those expensive books that
Mr.. De Lux occasionally gets out or could
hear Patti or buy small yet fragrant dog
for $50. could also buy myself some more
hair or get my teeth filed | could take O
classical course on the banjo or buy an inter
est in q bird dog with $50
But / wanted more than anything else, to
get more books. | wanted n new photograph
album most of all. An album with illustra
tions in it, TO lay on the parlor table and ex-
plain to strangers in low, passionate tones, is
never ending source of pleasure to the
thinking mind. When frontispiece showing
the proprietor as he looked with side whiskers.
and later, view where he was photographed
with chin whiskers and holding n war time
plug hat in his swollen hands; with a picture
of grandmother holding a bible as though it
might be glass bomb, and front view of
sightess child that makes up for its total
absence of eyes by introducing a soul stirring
mouth that would make a golden haired ball
of North Carolina butter turn white in a
single night With all these little specimen Q
of plastic art, often think that n photograph
album will do more toward entertaining a
mixed company than any other literary work
with which | am familiar
SO / went into a low priced barber shop a
week ago and began to save $50 for the pur
pose of adding to my library. | soon dis
covered that in five cent barber shop you
get less consideration and a lower grade of
lather up your nose than elsewhere
believe that the man who shaves you for
five cents makes his own soap Possibly he
works up some of his latest patrons that
way. Anyhow, the soap he uses smells badly
and tastes worse than my soap have ever
participated in At this price of shave one
saves financially, but he loses cutaneously.
The chair | sat in was not good easy
chair, and the spiral springs in it occasionally
had to come To the surface for more air |
became very much attached to one of these
springs and the ten cents ! saved on the
shave had to pay tailor down town who
tfophned my trousers for me-
The chair was also mentally wreck. and
it's memory was failing, thought. just as |
would relax my muscles and close my ewes
this totering old chair would forget itself
and the worn out trigger that held the head
rest would slip about nine cogs Then with
how dtslth rattle it would fall about a foot
and disturb my intellectual faculties. You
can get shaved quicker for five cents than
you ca, for fifteen, hut the towels are more
clanniy and the bay rum is rather more of Il
chestnut, | Judge
Suffice it that | am not going to continue
the course of economy that had inaugurated
for the year, for am opposed to tho hoard
ing and accumulation of surplus. Money
Ia tending too much toward Capitalization
any way, and do not want to encourage it.
While may not be able to secure the books
which contemplated buying with my saw
fngs, can visit the chamber of horrors at
the Musee and improve my mind in such ways
by actual observation.
We do not get all our education from books
We may easily obtain many refining and en-
nobling ideas from other sources than the
muSty tones which decorate the shelves of
our libraries
One of the brainiest men ever knew. il /
may be allowed the temporary use of that
term, . man too who had succeeded in amass-
ing quite fortune as result of native
shrewdness and knowledge of human nature
once admitted to me in sudden burst of CON
fidence, inspired perhaps by too much wine
that he had never read either of my books,
And yet he had concealed this gross ignor-
ance for five years snd amassed fortune
While this is a sad commentary on American
galvanized illiteracy, it still shows that a man
may be almost criminally ignorant in this
country and yet acquire scads.-New York
World